Tuesday, December 22, 2015

This is another one from the Bloodlines series that I love. The Indigo Spell is the third in the series. We pick up shortly after Sydney barely escaped the Warriors of Light. In this one, Sydney is juggling multiple conflicts. On one hand, she is trying to find out more about the secrets The Alchemists are so intent on covering up. On another hand, she is helping one of her teachers to find an evil sorceress before the woman comes for her. In addition, she is constantly trying to dodge Adrian's advances. How will Sydney conquer all these things and still have time to protect Jill?

This novel follows five different freshman who are assigned to journal every day for the year about their feelings. It's interesting to see some of the situations from various view points. It becomes evident that all five teens are portraying themselves differently then who they really are. This aspect causes everything to unravel.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

This is another book by one of my favorite authors. This one follows three teenagers who recently joined Search and Rescue. They stumble upon a young teenager's body in the woods and begin to unravel the mystery of her murder. The three are on a race against time as we find out one of them is the murderer's next target. Can they figure it out before one or all of them wind up dead?

Sunday, December 6, 2015

This is an awesome book if you love mystery and suspense. Meg and her best friend are invited to a private island for a weekend of partying. These start to go wrong when people start dying. With each new death, there is red slash on the wall. Is it all coincidental or is there a murderer on the island? Meg must figure it out before she is next!

I have been meaning to read this book for years but the length of it always turned me away! I finally took the plunge and read it. Meggie is alarmed when in the middle of the night she sees a strange man outside illuminated by the street lamps. When she alerts her father, he welcomes the stranger inside, who then proceeds to give her father a warning that Capricorn has tracked them down and will be coming for the book. Meggie and her father immediately flee their home in the hopes of dodging this mysterious villain while Meggie desperately tries to figure out the secret behind this book that her father refuses to tell her about.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Great book, this one is by the same author who wrote The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and the illustrations are as magnificent as they were in that book! This story follows two teenagers, set 50 years and thousands of miles apart. Their stories are somehow connected, but I will leave you to figure out how! We first meet Ben, in Minnesota 1977, who's mother just died and Ben is left to cope with that loss. We meet, Rose, in New York 1927, who is obsessed with a silent-film actress and makes a scrapbook of her. The two stories are set so far apart but by the end of the story, you find out what the importance is between the two! If you enjoyed Hugo and/or you enjoy highly detailed pencil drawings, check out this book!

So glad I picked up this series again. The Golden Lily is the second in the Bloodlines series, This series is a spinoff of the original Vampire Academy series, which is my favorite young adult series of all time. If you like fantasy, mainly vampires, check it out. The Bloodlines series follows Sydney Sage, an Alchemist. The Alchemists are a group who are responsible for covering up the existence of vampires from humans. They believe that vampires are a necessary evil and therefore they seek to work with them but keep them a secret from humans!

Sydney has been assigned a group of vampires to watch over and protect while simultaneously being reminded that should she become too attached she would be dragged off to the ReEducation center for brainwashing that vampires are evil and not to be trusted. Sydney begins to doubt her groups teachings that vampires are as evil as they say. Will the Alchemists find out Sydney is becoming a vampire supporter and take her away?

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

This is the second in the Olympians graphic novel series. The Olympians graphic novel series retells the ancient Greek myths with beautiful illustrations. This one in particular tells the story of Athena, Zeus's favorite child and her many adventures. There are many interesting stories about Athena, including her extremely strange birth, Medusa, and how she obtained her name "Pallas" Athena! I suggest this book and it's series if you enjoy either Greek myths or graphic novels!

I have been meaning to read this series for years and never was able to get around to it! Now that I finally did I am glad to see that it was as good as all the hype. If you enjoy literature that referencesancient Greekmyths, you will love this! Percy Jackson, our main character finds out he is half-god, half-human, the son of one of the 12 Olympians. Percy goes on a quest hoping to save his mother from the clutches of the Underworld.

My favorite graphic novel I have every read. Everything about this series is awesome! First, the art is strangely intriguing, it had me literally unable to put down until I was done. Second, the author took the ancient Greek myths and put them in graphic novel form while putting his spin on the classic stories. Finally, I really like that the author chose to include informative notes about the myths and further reading. All I can say is that I was extremely disappointed when I finished this one and will have to immediately pick up the next couple ones in the series this weekend!

Thursday, October 8, 2015

**Warning: This book covers a controversial topic.** I cannot put this book down; it's so great & it's also incredibly relevant to middle school in 2015. After Lara is publicly humiliated on Facebook by Christian, a boy who she thought really liked her, things spiral out of control. Lara's former best friend makes things worse by posting embarrassing pictures of Lara to Facebook, where other "friends" post further putting Lara down.The thing that makes this book so chilling is that it's a fiction but it's extremely realistic.The extreme bullying that takes place in this book is not an exaggeration, this kind of stuff happens everyday on online and so many don't consider the real consequences. Some people never truly think about the effects that their "jokes" actually have on the person on the other end.

Interesting book with a great message. I will say that it took a little while for the action of the story to pick up but once it did, man was it hard to put down. This one will leave you crying at the end. This story follows Charlie, a genius with numbers who is on a sure-path to MIT until he meets Charlotte, an artistic beauty who Charlie cannot get out of his mind. The more Charlie tries to avoid Charlotte, the more drawn to her he is. As Charlie begins to let Charlotte in, he realizes things are not all as they seem. Charlotte is hiding something, and it's tearing Charlie apart.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Interesting book and a quick read! Great for anyone who is into Ghosts and graphic novels! This novel follows the story of Anya, a Russian-American who falls down a well one day and meets a ghost while she is down there. After two days in the well, Anya is rescued, but her experience with the ghost is not over! Shortly after returning to school, she realizes the ghost has followed her and that the ghost can be used to her advantage!

This is the final book in the Legend trilogy, which has quickly become one of my favorite series. In this one, the Colonies have lifted their ceasefire and have began to invade the Republic following the plague spreading to their cities. The only way the Colonies will sign a peace treaty with the Republic is if the Republic finds a cure for the plague. Day must decide if he will sacrifice someone he loves for the good of the people while June attempts to receive aid from Antarctica!

Friday, September 11, 2015

This author is quickly becoming my favorite; everything I have read by her has been page-turning and I've been unable to put down! Some other great titles by her are: Girl Stolen, The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die, and The Body in the Woods. Drew takes a pizza order one night from a man who requested the "girl with the Mini Cooper deliver". Drew knows the customer is asking for Gabie but she and another co-worker switched shifts for that night. Kayla goes out to deliver the pizzas but doesn't return that night...or the next...The police are quickly convinced that Kayla is dead but Gabie's gut tells her she's alive and that Kayla wasn't his true target. Is Kayla alive? Is he coming for Gabie next?

The Collector is the first book in the Dante Walker series. Dante is a soul collector that is allowed out of hell for the sole purpose of bringing Boss Man more souls. When Dante is offered a permanent way out of hell if he brings in this ultimate soul, Charlie Cooper, he can't help but go for it. Dante is convinced he has found his ticket out, until doubt begins to creep in once he learns how wonderful a person Charlie is. Will he damn Charlie to an eternity of anguish just so he can be free?

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

This is a great quick read for people who are looking to get into comic books and/or graphic novels. This book is the first in a series; in this one, we meet our three main characters, cousins who have just been kicked out of their home town for something Phoney Bone did. The plot of this one revolves around the three bones getting split up and attempting to find each other.

This book was an extremely quick read; it took me just a couple hours in one day to read. This is the first in The Shadow Children series. We meet Luke, a third-child who lives in secretary in his parents' attic because the government outlaws families from having any more than two children. Luke has grown accustomed to his captivity until he thinks he spots another person lurking in the Sports family home. A person that should also not exist. Luke must decide what is more important, hiding to protect his family, or risking everything for companionship from another third-child.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Another great book by one of my favorite young adult author! Everlost follows two teenagers who die in a head-on collision and bump each other out of the "go-towards-the-light-tunnel. This bump causes them to end up in Everlost, a place children go who do not "reach where they are going". Our two protagonists must juggle "surviving" this realm where they are at constant risk of sinking to the Earth's core, fighting one adversary after another, and trying Can Allie and Nick overcome all the obstacles against them to find a way out of Everlost before forgetting who they are and why they ever wanted to leave?

Thursday, August 13, 2015

This book was so good! I wish it didn't have to end! This is the sequel to Legend, this installment definitely amped up the drama and makes me want to immediately pick up the last book in the series!

Prodigy picks up immediately after Day & June's escape from Batalla Hall. They are now on the run from the Republic, and are attempting to join the Patriots, a secret group that wants to lead a revolution that would end the Republic and return of the United States. To join the Patriots, June & Day will have to assist in the assassin of the Republic's leader. They are all for it, until things start to not add up, who is the real enemy here & what will really happen if June & Day help kill the Elector? It's a race against time to uncover the truth and prevent chaos from ensuing!

This book was so great; I loved it! It has similar themes to Hunger Games & Maze Runner, which is possibly why I like it a lot. Legend is set in a future dystopian society, where our two main characters live in The Republic of America, a militarized country that has been at constant war against the Colonies of America. We meet June, one of the Republic's up and coming best and brightest soldiers, who would do anything for her country. Her mission is to target & destroy the Republic's number one public enemy, Day, a rebel who has been sabotaging the Republic's missions. Yet, she starts to think things are not as they seem when she actually meets Day, who seems to be the total opposite of what the Republic has said he is. June is at a lose as to what to do, does she trust the country that she loves or this new boy who speaks of revolution.